Consumers have utilized a number of cosmetic and personal care compositions to enhance and/or modify the appearance of keratin fibers, such as the hair. One popular modification is impartation of an artificial color on the hair using a chemical dye. For example, the hair may be treated using a direct dye or an oxidative dye, which is also known as a “permanent” hair dye, to obtain a desired color.
It is known in the art that artificial hair colors, particularly red tones, obtained by treating hair with chemical dyes rapidly fade with repeat shampooing and washing. The chemical dyes used to impart color on the hair tend to increase the porosity of the keratin fibers of the hair. The increased porosity provides an increased surface area and allows an increased flow of fluids (e.g., water) through the fibers of the hair and thus, increases the rate at which molecules of the chemical dyes are leached from the hair. Artificially colored hair may exhibit substantial color fading after only a few washings. Specifically, it has been shown that more than 20% of the artificial hair color can be lost during the first five washes.
Most hair care products currently available (e.g., conditioner, hair gel, hairspray) are specifically formulated as hydrophilic compositions. Such hair products can be easily removed using water, with or without the addition of shampoo, exposing the fibers of the hair to direct contact with water and thereby permitting the chemical dye molecules to be leached from the hair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,706,674 describes a hair styling composition comprising a vinyl copolymer and a nonaqueous solvent. The nonaqueous solvent may comprise a polyhydric C2-C6 alcohol. It is stated that certain embodiments of the hair styling composition may comprise triisostearyl trilinoleate as a viscosity controlling agent and/or a Fluoro C2-8 alkyldimethicone as an emollient.
Recent advances to enhance color retention and/or reduce color fading of artificially colored hair have included the use of color-protecting agents. Typically, these color-protecting agents can be incorporated into hair care compositions through emulsification, dissolution or otherwise made to be compatible with such hair care product compositions. The color-protecting agents may include mild surfactants, cationic conditioning agents, aminofunctional silicones, ultraviolet absorbers, starches or sugar surfactants.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,310 describes a composition for preventing the fading of artificial hair dye and/or slowing down the oxidation of hair comprising a cationic antioxidant phenol.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,129,909 and 6,180,091 describe a hair-treating composition comprising a diester or polyester of a naphthalene dicarboxylic acid for imparting gloss and/or hair color stabilization. It is stated that the naphthalene dicarboxylic acid can be mixed in an aqueous phase of the hair-treating composition to impart improved photo-stabilizing properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,307 describes a method of treating dyed hair to reduce the color loss caused by exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun by applying an effective amount of a hair treating formulation comprising an effective amount of a water insoluble benzophenone compound that combines readily with a hair substantive carrier composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,286 describes hair conditioning compositions comprising a cationic conditioning agent, a fatty alcohol, a nonionic surfactant and a particular siloxane polymer having both difunctional units and trifunctional units, in a ratio of about 10 to 80 difunctional units for every trifunctional unit.
U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0188481 describes a compositing comprising at least one amylose-containing starch, and its use in extending or improving the color durability and stability of artificially colored hair.
A number of hair dye manufacturers have incorporated color-protecting agents in “color sealing” conditioners to be used after the first shampooing of newly artificially colored hair. However, the use of such a conditioner cannot provide enhanced color retention and/or reduced color fading during the first shampooing. During the first shampooing, the newly artificially colored hair is not protected from water or shampoo. Therefore, a noticeable amount of the chemical dye molecules can be leached from the hair at that time, causing the newly artificially colored hair to suffer a substantial amount of color fading before a color-protecting agent is applied.
Despite the advances for color-protecting agents, there remains a need in the art for enhanced color retention and/or reduced color fading of artificially colored hair. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide compositions and methods for imparting enhanced color retention and reduced color fading to artificially colored hair.